Muslim activists want Amazon to remove Koran verses from bath mats

A Muslim activist organization today asked Amazon to remove bath mats that included references to the Prophet Muhammad and verses from the Koran, Islam's holy text.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations claimed it received complaints about a specific seller, Emvency, who sold the bath mats. In a statement, CAIR said the mats are "offensive to Muslims because the Koranic verses and other Islamic references would be stepped-on or otherwise disrespected by customers."

CAIR asked its followers to contact Amazon to have the items removed from the online retailer's website, asking them to "as always, be polite and respectful."

In 1997, CAIR urged Muslims to boycott Nike shoes that had a logo that resembled the word "Allah" written in Arabic script. Nike removed the shoes from distribution and also agreed to donate a $50,000 playground to an Islamic elementary school in the United States.

In February, Nike also removed the ability for customers to place words "Muslim" or "Islam" on customized shoes as part of its NikeID store.

Spero News reviewed the Amazon retailer's store and did not find any bath mats with Arabic calligraphy, potentially revealing the retailer pulled the items for sale. Other retailers, though, continue to sell bathmats with the name of "Allah" written on them. We also reached out to Amazon for a comment but did not receive a reply in time for publication.